Wave Hill is an expansive public garden with wooded paths, benches, and breathtaking views of the Hudson River. This 28-acre garden is established in a Hudson Hill estate, a section of Riverdale, New York. The public horticulture gardens and cultural center offer the experience of a lifetime for every visitor in the Bronx that steps into this garden which has incredible slopes that overall Hudson River. The landscape offers expansive views that stretch from the river toward New Jersey Palisades.
What You Need to Know About Wave Hill
Also known as the garden of wonders, Wave Hill is a public garden with unexpected and scenic surprises for its visitors. It is not just a traditional garden but has paths that wind across wooded areas, bright wildflowers carpets, and even a pool that is beautified further with water lilies and lotus flowers.
The Wave Hill garden is attractive due to its picturesque parks and historical sites and houses over 4000 varieties of shrubs, vines, trees, and other herbaceous plants. The garden is considered a living museum without walls, as this public garden is famous in New York for its unique combination of pleasing designs and horticultural craftsmanship.
The 28-acre land on which Wave Hill is established offers greenhouses, gardens, and 8-acre woodland. The garden is carefully cultivated, so visitors must be extra careful and not treat it like an ordinary park.
The park authorities expect every visitor to be extra respectful towards its plants and their natural habits while having a wonderful time exploring its attractive landscape.
Guidelines for Visitors
The Wave Hill garden has specific requirements for its visitors, such as:
- The garden is open from Tuesday to Sunday, and the timings are from 10 am to 5:30 pm.
- Admission to Wave Hill is free on Thursdays but not for organized groups.
- There are visitor capacity restrictions at Wave Hill.
- To gain admission to Wave Hill, one must acquire a ticket at the gatehouse at the front entrance.
- The Riverdale parking lot is available for visitors along with the onsite parking lot.
- The garden offered convenience for people with mobility issues through their “Mobility Assistance Vehicles.” These vehicles take visitors from one part of the garden to the next.
- The Wave Hill garden also offers manual wheelchairs borrowed by visitors with mobility issues.
- Visitors are prohibited from bringing outdoor chairs and blankets.
- The plants in Wave Hill need to be protected, which is why it is not allowed to bring skateboards, scooters, rollerblades, Frisbees, and drones in the vicinity.
- Visitors that bring bicycles can leave them locked at the front entrance.
- The Wave Hill garden authorities strictly prohibit the use of vaping or smoking.
- Wave Hill encourages visitors to take photographs of the buildings and ground. However, if planned photography of large groups is organized, then there is an advanced registration fee.
- Visitors who want a planned wedding or family or engagement photos require a permit and a fee. The same applies to commercial photography.
- The garden has an intimate and selective ambiance, so organized gatherings that were not reserved beforehand are not allowed on the Wave Hill ground.
- The family picnic area of Wave Hill is only available on a first-come, first serve basis.
Discover Wave Hill
What makes Wave Hill a really attractive site for visiting is its 28 acres of beautiful gardens that offer sweeping views of the Hudson River. The enchanting experience is even more enjoyable under open skies with several workshops, contemporary art, and live performances.
Anyone who visits Wave Hill has something to learn and experience, as each moment is made memorable by this garden’s serene and impressive setting that invites visitors to connect with nature in fantastic ways.
Garden Destinations at Wave Hill
The aesthetic plantsmanship and unique experiences at Wave Hill offer a charming impression on every visitor.
Flower Garden
The flower garden unfolds with breathtaking flowers that bloom from season to season. A combination of many annual bulbs, shrubs, and perennials started in 1969 when it was just a formal rose garden. The rose garden underwent several transformations that brought what we know today as a tapestry of modern and vintage shrubs, exotic plants, and perennials.
Pergola
Pergola is a piece of art as the magnificent architectural structure offers a dramatic view of the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades. At Pergola, warmer months bring annual and tropical plants that fill the planting beds with colorful and scenic flowers and foliage. Pergola is truly a breathtaking site that invites every visitor to stop and take in the beautiful views it has to offer.
Herb and Dry Gardens
The Herb and Dry gardens house many ornamental plants and herbs from Mediterranean climates to these terraced gardens. This garden has a stone foundation that offers protection to the plants, all the while adding an aesthetic aura to the location. Herb and Dry Gardens are sometimes called Wave Hill “ruin gardens,” and are built on the grounds that were established as the estate’s greenhouses for the growth of out-of-season flowers and vegetables.
T.H. Everett Alpine House and Troughs
The airy alpine house is a suitable environment for the flourishing growth of plants from mountainous regions. It also supports the growth of rock garden plants through its handmade troughs and the adjacent alpine wall. This house is designed especially for plants that are adapted to the tough and rigorous growing conditions found above the tree line.
Wild Garden
The Wild Garden dates back to the 1910s and is always subject to careful curation. The Wild Garden is the highest point in Wave Hill garden, overlooked by a rustic gazebo. Its breathtaking views are enjoyed from the benches or gazebo, offering a dramatic cascade of over a dozen beds that spill down to the southwest hillside offering a beautiful panoramic view of the Hudson River.
Marco Polo Stufano Conservatory
This conservatory is the central position of the landscape. It offers an open and airy palm house that showcases fascinating foliage and a tropical house that offers a jungle-like understory with filtered light and flourishing with ferns and other tender plants.